I’ve been trying to get into playing some old games I’ve either missed out on or have completely forgot I’ve even played. I now find myself wanting to play games from SNES and the Gameboy line and can’t settle down on which handheld to play all these games on.
I have my old 3DS handhelds, and XL and non-XL version (proprietary charging), Analogue Pocket (no SNES save states), Miyoo Mini + (currently shipping), a Switch, and a Steam Deck (too heavy for long playthroughs). I find myself constantly switching between them all and can’t settle down to actually play a game.
Anyone have any opinions on what’s the best handheld experience?
IMO Steam Deck is the best overall option, as it’s beefy enough to run PS3 or even Switch games.
If it’s too heavy, the Retroid Pocket 3+ is a decent emulation competitor with a lighter, smaller form factor.
I find myself constantly switching between them all and can’t settle down to actually play a game.
This sounds like one of those problems where buying more hardware doesn’t help. Ruminating about the “best” handheld choice is an easy way to forget about playing the games themselves. I’ve been there. The solution is to just pick a device at random, and go outside to play it. There will be pros and cons, but if you’re not even getting to the point where you can actually play the game, then the pros and cons don’t matter either.
Yep, steamdeck here, and once it’s fully set up it’s a great machine for emulation. I honestly don’t notice that it’s too heavy. Just re-adjust how you’re sitting or laying down or whatever I guess? Maybe put a pillow on your lap to give your arms some support? Not sure what the answer is there, but steamdeck is a great route to go.
Honestly depends on whether you want power or portability. If I were you I’d probably play retro games on the Miyoo Mini, and use the Steam Deck for more demanding stuff.
Personaly I’m using my miyoo mini + for lite gameplay session like 32bits and under era, and I’m using my Odin lite for android, psp, n64 games.
For handhelds, I have a Supaboy, a PSP, a PS Vita, a 3DS old, a New 3DS XL and a Switch.
Out of those, the Switch is the only one I can’t play emulated games or homebrews, given I haven’t modded it nor there is flashcarts for it.
And among the ones we both have, the 3DS XL models seem like the best ones. Not very heavy while still being decently sized, good resolution and color palette, buttons with good pressure, and for emulating Nintendo games, Nintendo’s own devices are usually the best for their given release period.
Oh man. The pocket doesn’t have SNES save states? Mine is on order but not due for ages. I’ve been playing on an Rg35xx in the meantime and don’t know if I can go back to no save states!
Unfortunately, no SNES core has the capability of save states. Someone would need to create one with that in mind, but according to some core devs, it’s very difficult. The Analogue Pocket would have been the clear winner if that was the case
That makes sense. I haven’t done much research into the pocket, but my understanding is that the FPGA allocated for the OpenFPGA cores is quite small, and that the save states on the MiSTer increase the FPGA usage quite considerably, so I guess it’s no superise that there isn’t enough space to a support them. I do have quite a lot of GB and GBA carts, and that’s really why I ordered one, but I’ve found myself using the save states on the rg35xx very frequently. It’s so convenient just to turn it off and for it to save.
